COUNTY TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS: VARVAIS GETS SOME HELP IN ADVANCING TO FINAL.Byline: Jim Inghram Staff Writer Humbling. It's what Nick Varvais felt about his performance against high-schooler Quinn Borchard in the semifinals of the Ventura County Championships. Varvais, 20, who played two years of Division I tennis at UC Irvine and was a four-time MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. of the Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. while playing at Westlake and Royal high schools, only advanced to Saturday's final because Borchard retired in the third set. ``He kind of saved me,'' Varvais said. ``I played him about two months ago and beat him pretty easy, but I had just returned from Mexico (on vacation) and I was a little rusty rust·y adj. rust·i·er, rust·i·est 1. Covered with rust; corroded. 2. Consisting of or produced by rust. 3. Of a yellowish-red or brownish-red color. 4. . ``He had me down in the third set, but I started to make a little comeback Comeback Australian breed of wool sheep, bred by crossing Merino with Corriedale, Polwarth or Zenith sheep; wool is 21 to 25 microns. It is a registered breed, but the term is more commonly used in the sense of a type of sheep produced by crossbreeding a crossbred Merino back to Merino. when he retired.'' Borchard, who will be a senior at Rio Mesa in the fall, chose to retire because of his commitments to a team tournament in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. this weekend. ``I didn't want to default in the championships,'' said Borchard, who would have had to do just that had he advanced past Varvais. Said Varvais: ``It was kind of embarrassing. My little brother was making fun of me. He (Borchard) is good, but with my experience I should be able to beat him every time.'' Varvais figures he will be much better prepared to play this weekend when he faces Glenn Erickson in the championship match at noon Saturday at Pierpont Racquet Club in Ventura. ``I think I got rid of the rustiness rust·y adj. rust·i·er, rust·i·est 1. Covered with rust; corroded. 2. Consisting of or produced by rust. 3. Of a yellowish-red or brownish-red color. 4. I had last weekend,'' Varvais said. ``If I don't play a little bit, I start to do terrible. I enter these open tournaments to keep sharp, because if I just do drills, I'll regress REGRESS. Returning; going back opposed to ingress. (q.v.) .'' Part of that could be Varvais finding suitably talented partners for practice sessions. ``It's difficult for a player like Nick to even find someone to hit with,'' said his private coach Craig Heinberg. ``There are a few players that he can practice with, but it's tough when you are not in school. But Nick works hard to stay sharp. His goal is to get into Pepperdine or USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. after he finishes a quarter at Moorpark (College).'' Varvais, who graduated in 1996 from Royal High, played tennis at UC Irvine for two years before deciding to transfer. He took last year off to take a breather Verb 1. take a breather - take a short break from one's activities in order to relax catch one's breath, rest, breathe intermit, pause, break - cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch" from school and tennis and enrolled at Moorpark. ``I just needed a break,'' Varvais said. ``And I wanted to get my grades up.'' Varvais said tennis was not a problem at Irvine. ``I loved being on the team,'' he said, ``but it was kind of a boring school. Everyone kind of stays to themselves and most people went home on the weekends. There wasn't much life.'' The suburban campus in Southern Orange County is surrounded sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. by residential developments and is relatively far from any entertainment options. ``It just wasn't me,'' Varvais said. ``I like schools like USC a lot better.'' Varvais was a success with the Anteaters. He played at No. 2 singles and doubles and had the team's best record in both his last season. He hopes that and improved grades are enough to get his college career going again in January. ``Some people might say something, because I left a sure thing,'' Varvais said. ``But I just wasn't as happy as I wanted to be. I think wherever I end up will be an improvement for me.'' Heinberg thinks so, too. ``He'll be around a higher-quality player at either school,'' Heinberg said. ``It will help him improve his game.'' Varvais file Name: Nick Varvais School: Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. Year: Junior Height/weight: 5-foot-10/165 Born/place: Oct. 3, 1978/Van Nuys Notable: Attended Westlake High as a freshman and sophomore and Royal as a junior and senior. . . . Graduated from Royal in 1996. . . . Was the Marmonte League Most Valuable Player and individual champion all four years. . . . Captured the 18s title at Ojai in 1995. . . . Transferred from UC Irvine to Moorpark College with the hopes of moving to USC in January. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: Nick Varvais hopes to make the best of To improve to the utmost; to use or dispose of to the greatest advantage. To reduce to the least possible inconvenience; as, to make the best of ill fortune or a bad bargain. - Bacon. See also: Best Best his second chance at the Ventura County championships. His opponent was leading in the semis when he had to retire because of other commitments, allowing Varvais to reach the final. Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News Box: VARVAIS FILE (See text) |
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